Regenerative braking is used on many hybrid and electric vehicles to generate electricity during braking events to increase fuel economy. During these events, kinetic energy of the vehicle is converted to electricity for charging a high voltage battery using an electric machine as a brake and a generator. Since regenerative braking efficiency decreases at lower speeds, an automatic transmission of the vehicle may be downshifted to increase the electric machine speed and increase the available torque and efficiency. It is desirable to provide systems and methods for scheduling the first downshift of the automatic transmission at a proper time during the brake application such that the electric machine can deliver its maximum power to increase regenerative braking efficiency and fuel economy.